GB/T 34827-2017 in English

GB/T 34827—2017 Standard Overview

National Standard of the People's Republic of China GB/T 34827—2017 specifies the principles, procedures and requirements for handling transaction disputes within third-party online retail platforms, aiming to provide guidance for platforms to establish and improve transaction dispute handling systems. This standard applies to all disputes between buyers and sellers arising from the transaction process, including returns and exchanges, after-sales services, etc.

Background and Significance of Standard Formulation

With the rapid development of e-commerce, online retail sales have increased year by year, and the role of third-party online retail platforms in handling transaction disputes has become increasingly important. The purpose of this standard is to:

• Protect the legitimate rights and interests of both buyers and sellers
• Maintain a fair and just trading environment
• Promote the healthy development of the e-commerce industry

Interpretation of core principles

1. Fairness, justice, objectivity and openness

The platform should publicize the rules for handling transaction disputes and make liability determinations based on objective evidence during the handling process. For example, when dealing with product quality issues, the buyer needs to provide evidence such as photos, and the seller needs to provide supporting materials such as purchase documents.

2. Consumer protection

The platform should establish a consumer rights protection fund and, in certain circumstances, adopt the advance payment measure, that is, use its own funds to refund the buyer in advance during the dispute handling period.

3. Focus on efficiency

The platform needs to simplify the transaction dispute handling process, especially for small transactions, the handling result may only involve the disposal of goods and funds. For example, when the buyer does not receive the goods, the platform can directly execute refund processing.

Detailed explanation of transaction dispute handling process

1. Dispute handling application

Both the buyer and the seller can apply for transaction dispute handling through the channels provided by the platform when they cannot resolve the dispute through negotiation. For example, if the buyer finds quality problems after receiving the goods, the buyer should submit a post-sale application within 15 days.

2. Burden of proof

According to the principle of allocation of burden of proof, the buyer needs to provide evidence to support his claim, such as taking photos to prove the surface problems of the goods. The seller needs to provide materials such as purchase documents to prove the quality of the goods.

3. Liability determination and handling measures

The platform determines liability based on the evidence provided by both parties and the data held by the platform. For example, if the buyer purchases counterfeit goods, the transaction will be refunded.

Implementation Suggestions

1. Platform Level

• Establish a sound transaction dispute handling rule and publicity mechanism
• Optimize the evidence-gathering process and provide a convenient channel for evidence submission
• Strengthen technical support to ensure the integrity and security of platform data

2. Consumer Level

• Improve consumers’ legal awareness and ability to provide evidence
• Preserve transaction records and related evidence in a timely manner
• Reasonably use the dispute resolution channels provided by the platform

3. Seller Level

• Improve the after-sales service system and reduce the occurrence of disputes
• Establish a product quality monitoring mechanism
• Actively cooperate with the platform to resolve disputes and provide sufficient evidence